Method and apparatus for recording manufacturer information and for determining whether the manufacturer information is effective

ABSTRACT

A recording medium and a recording apparatus for storing manufacturer information for supporting specific functions for each manufacturer and a method therefor. A reproducing apparatus for reproducing manufacturer information for supporting specific functions and a method therefor is also provided. If a recording apparatus modifies the contents of the recording medium, then it should record its manufacturer&#39;s identification code. A recording apparatus/reproducing apparatus should check the identification code on the recording medium before using its own manufacture information item for some specific function. Also, it is possible to reduce the time required to determine whether the manufacturer information items are effective.

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/337,253filed Jun. 22, 1999.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application Nos.98-23487, filed Jun. 22, 1998 and 98-30753, filed Jul. 29, 1998, in theKorean Patent Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated hereinby reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to optical recording and reproduction(recording/reproduction) of video and/or audio data. More particularly,the present invention relates to a recording medium for storingidentification information of a manufacturer of a recorder whichmodifies the contents of the recording medium, and a recorder and/or aplayer which have the manufacturer specific information and a methodtherefor.

2. Description of the Related Art

FIG. 1 shows a one dimensional structure of a general recording medium.As shown in FIG. 1, a volume space, which is the entire recordingmedium, is comprised of a volume and file structure area and areas inwhich real data is recorded (used blocks #1, #2, and #3). Real data canbe recorded in a physically scattered state by editing in apredetermined unit, such as a program or a title. General information onthe disc and information on the structures of a file and a directory, asshown in FIG. 2, are recorded in the volume and file structure area.

FIG. 2 shows files existing on a file system used for an apparatus forrecording and reproducing audio and/or video (A/V) data on a rewritablerecording medium. A bitstream file is a file in which real A/V data isrecorded. An information file is a file containing information on thebitstream file. The file system may also include a resource file.

FIG. 3 shows the contents of the information file shown in FIG. 2. Thecontents can be classified into formatted bitstream information having acommon format among manufacturers, and manufacturer (specific)information having an individual format which is not compatible betweenmanufacturers. The formatted information, which includes information forhaving a common function regardless of the manufacturer, is necessary tomaintain compatibility. For example, the formatted information includesinformation on the starting position of a specific title in thebitstream file and information on a position corresponding to a specifictime interval. The recorder and/or player obtains information on whichposition in the bitstream file is to be recorded and which position isto be reproduced through the formatted information andrecords/reproduces the bitstream file on the basis of the obtainedinformation.

The manufacturer information that is used by each manufacturer tosupport specific functions of the respective manufacturer does not needto be compatible. For example, a function of recording information onthe finally reproduced position in the bitstream file as themanufacturer information item and automatically reproducing from aposition next to the finally reproduced position when the recordingmedium is reproduced later is an example of a specific function usingmanufacturer information. The specific function is supported only in therecording medium recorder/player which can support the manufacturerinformation.

In detail, as shown in FIG. 3, the contents of the manufacturerinformation are comprised of a manufacturer information header, forexample, having information on the number of items (n) of themanufacturer information; the same number (n) of manufacturerinformation search pointers having information on the positions of therespective item of the manufacturer information (manufacturerinformation search pointer #1, . . . , manufacturer information searchpointer #n); and the respective manufacturer information items(manufacturer information item #1, . . . manufacturer information item#n). A recorder/player of each manufacturer is expected to have at leastone manufacturer information item.

The contents of the manufacturer information items can be understood andutilized only in the recorder/player of the specific manufacturer whichgenerated the manufacturer information items, and are not compatiblewith the recorders/players of other manufacturers.

As described above, since the information for the specific function ofthe individual manufacturer is not compatible with information of othermanufacturers, if additional recording/deleting processes are performedby a recorder/editor manufactured by a manufacturer B on a recordingmedium having the manufacturer information generated by a manufacturerA, the manufacturer information of the manufacturer A may not beeffective any longer. Since the manufacturer information is unique tothe manufacturer A, only the manufacturer A can analyze and modify theinformation. Thus, the manufacturer B cannot modify or managemanufacturer A's information. When a recording medium of which thecontents are modified is returned to the recorder/player of themanufacturer A for more recording or reproducing, a mis-operation canoccur since the information item containing the information for thespecific function set by the manufacturer A may no longer be effective.Therefore, a check should always be made as to whether the manufacturerinformation is effective before using the manufacturer information madeby the manufacturer A when a recording medium is newly loaded into arecorder/player of the manufacturer A. Verification processes arecomplicated and it can take a long time to perform the processes whenthere is a large amount of recorded A/V data.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a first object of the present invention to provide a recordingmedium for storing manufacturer information for a specific function ofrecorders/players of different manufacturers.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide a recordingmedium for storing identification information of the manufacturer of arecorder/editor which last performed recording/deleting on the recordingmedium.

It is a third object of the present invention to provide arecorder/editor for and method of storing on a recording mediummanufacturer information for a specific function of the recorder/editorof each different manufacturer.

It is a fourth object of the present invention to provide arecorder/editor for and a method of storing on a recording mediumidentification information of a manufacturer of the recorder/editorwhich performs recording/deleting.

It is a fifth object of the present invention to provide arecorder/player for and method of using the manufacturer informationstored on the recording medium for the specific function of therecorders/players of each different manufacturer.

It is a sixth object of the present invention to provide arecorder/player for and method of checking whether the identificationinformation of the manufacturer of a recorder/editor which last performsrecording/deleting on the recording medium is the same as theidentification information of the manufacturer of the recorder/player todetermine whether or not the manufacturer information is effective. Thatis, if the respective identification information is the same, then themanufacturer information item is effective. If not, the manufacturerinformation item may be not effective, thus requiring completeverification.

The above objects are achieved in accordance with the present inventionwith a rewritable recording medium to store audio/video (A/V) contents,including formatted information for the A/V contents, and manufacturerinformation to support the manufacturer's specific function, wherein themanufacturer information comprises an identification code of amanufacturer of a recording apparatus that last modified the content ofthe recording medium.

The above objects are achieved in accordance with the present inventionwith a recording apparatus for recording and/or editing audio, video,and/or information data on a rewritable recording medium, comprising arecording controller to produce A/V contents and formatted informationfor the A/V contents and manufacturer information to support themanufacturer's specific function, wherein the manufacturer informationcomprises an identification code of the manufacturer of a recordingapparatus that last modified the content of the recording medium.

The above objects are achieved in accordance with the present inventionwith a reproducing apparatus for reproducing audio, video, and/orinformation data on a rewritable recording medium, comprising areproducing controller to reproduce A/V contents and formattedinformation for the A/V contents and manufacturer information to supporta manufacturer's specific function, wherein the manufacturer informationcomprises an identification code of the manufacturer of the recordingapparatus that last modified the content of the recording medium.

The above objects are achieved in accordance with the present inventionwith a method of recording and/or editing audio, video, and/orinformation data on a rewritable recording medium, comprising recordingan identification code of the manufacturer of a recording apparatuswhich last modified the contents of the recording medium by performingrecording/editing on the recording medium.

The above objects are achieved in accordance with the present inventionwith a method of recording/reproducing audio, video, and/or informationdata on a rewritable recording medium with a recording/reproducingapparatus using manufacturer information recorded on the recordingmedium, comprising verifying a coincidence of an identification code ofa manufacturer which last modified the contents of the recording mediumand its own manufacturer identification code to determine whether itsmanufacturer specific information is effective.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above objects and advantages of the present invention will becomemore apparent by describing in detail a preferred embodiment thereofwith reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a one-dimensional structure of a general recording medium;

FIG. 2 shows the file structure of the recording medium shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows the contents of the information file shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an optical recording and reproducingapparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a table showing an example of detailed contents of amanufacturer information header for supporting a manufacturer specificfunction according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a table showing another example of detailed contents of amanufacturer information header according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a table showing the contents of a manufacturer informationsearch pointer according to the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a table showing the contents of a manufacturer informationitem according to the present invention;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a recording medium and arecorder/editor for storing manufacturer information for supportingspecific functions of the manufacturer and a recorder/player for usingmanufacturer information for supporting specific functions of themanufacturer according to the present invention and preferredembodiments of a method therefor will be described.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an optical recording and reproducingapparatus in accordance with the present invention. The function of anapparatus for recording A/V data on and reproducing A/V data from arecordable and rewritable recording medium is divided into recording andreproducing.

During recording, an A/V codec 110 compression-codes an A/V signal inputby a predetermined compression coding scheme. A digital signal processor(DSP) 120 receives A/V data supplied from the A/V codec 110, adds paritydata for an error correction code (ECC) process, and performs modulationby a predetermined modulation scheme. A radio frequency amplifier (RFAMP) 130 converts data supplied from the DSP 120 into an RF signal. Apick-up unit 140 drives a recording medium, records data correspondingto the RF signal from the RF AMP 130 on a recording medium, and includesan actuator for performing focusing and tracking. A servo unit 150receives information required for controlling a servo from the RF AMP130 and a system controller 160 and performs a stable servo operation.The system controller 160 controls the entire system, controls the A/Vdata to be recorded on the recording medium, and records informationincluding information on the size and the position of the compresseddata as well as manufacturer information on the recorder/editorperforming the specific function, the recording/editing. Also, thesystem controller 160 determines whether the manufacturer informationrecorded on the recording medium is effective using the identificationinformation on the recorder/editor performing the recording/editingfunctions by finally accessing the recording medium, and controlsrecording/editing operations using the determined manufacturerinformation.

During reproduction, the pick-up unit 140 provides an optical signalpicked up from the recording medium in which data is stored. The RF AMP130 converts the optical signal into an electrical signal and extractsthe servo signal for performing the servo and extracts the modulateddata. The DSP 120 demodulates the modulated data supplied from the RFAMP 130 corresponding to the modulation scheme used upon modulation,corrects errors by performing ECC, and removes the parity data. Theservo unit 150 receives information required for controlling the servofrom the RF AMP 130 and the system controller 160 and performs a stableservo operation. The A/V codec 110 decodes the compressed A/V datasupplied from the DSP 120 and outputs an A/V signal. The systemcontroller 160 controls the entire system to reproduce data using theinformation recorded on the recording medium, performing a userinterface, i.e., processing the key input of the user. Also, the systemcontroller 160 determines whether the manufacturer information recordedon the recording medium is effective using the identificationinformation on the recorder/editor performing the recording/editingfunctions by finally accessing the recording medium, and controlsreproducing operations using the determined manufacturer information.

FIG. 5 is a table showing an example of detailed contents included in amanufacturer information header for a manufacturer specific functionaccording to the present invention. The table shown in FIG. 5 can becomprised of MNFI_Ns which is information on the number of manufacturerinformation items, a manufacturer identification code (LAST_MN)indicating the manufacturer of the recorder/editor which last modifiedthe contents of the recording medium. Moreover, the table shown in FIG.5 can include a product code (LAST_PROD) indicating the product model ofthe recorder/editor which last modified the recording medium, and anoperation code (OP_CD) expressed by a predetermined code indicatinginformation on an operation performed by the recorder/editor, forexample, an operation of modifying A/V bitstream data on the recordingmedium by recording, editing, erasing, and a specific function otherthan simple reproduction.

The manufacturer identification code is for classifying differentmanufacturers, in which the respective manufacturers are expected tohave unique values. Simple text data of the manufacturer's name can beused because it is very difficult to imagine that differentmanufacturers have the same name.

The operation code has compatibility since it must be understood bydifferent manufacturers. The information on the recorder/editorperforming the recording/editing by finally accessing the recordingmedium and the information on the performed operation are provided byrecording such information on the manufacturer information header ineach recorder/editor performing the recording/editing by accessing therecording medium. When only simple reproduction is performed,manufacturer identification information of the reproducing apparatus isnot recorded on the manufacturer information header because there is nochange in the contents of the recording medium.

Examples of using the manufacturer information using the above datastructure are as follows. When the manufacturer A generates amanufacturer information item and records information on the recordingmedium and the manufacturer B edits the recording medium in therecorder/editor, the recorder/editor of the manufacturer B records theidentification code of the manufacturer B, the product code of therecorder/editor and the operation code indicating information includingthat an editing operation has been performed on the manufacturerinformation header as shown in FIG. 5, before ejecting the recordingmedium.

When the data recorded on the recording medium is overwritten, edited,and reproduced using the manufacturer information item by the recorder,editor, and player of the manufacturer A, the identification informationon the manufacturer which last used the recording medium, productinformation of the recorder/editor, and information on the operationperformed in the manufacturer information header, it is determinedwhether the manufacturer information items to be used during recording,editing, and reproducing are effective.

If the manufacturer identification code recorded in the recording mediumwhich identifies the manufacturer that last modified the recordingmedium is consistent with the concerned recorder/editor/player'smanufacturer identification code, it is determined that the concernedmanufacturer information item is effective. If the manufactureridentification code recorded in the recording medium is not consistentwith the concerned manufacturer identification code, it must bedetermined whether the manufacturer information items to be used areeffective by analyzing the entire contents of the recording medium. Whenthe manufacturer information items are effective, they can be used.

Also, when the recorder/editor which last modified the recording mediumis the current recorder/editor and the editing operation is finallyperformed, it is easily judged that the manufacturer information itemfor the manufacturer is effective since it is possible to update themanufacturer information item according to the recording/editingoperation by analyzing the contents of the manufacturer information itemcorresponding to the modified contents. Accordingly, it is possible toreduce the time required to determine whether the manufacturerinformation items are effective. When the manufacturer information itemsare effective, it is possible to perform the recording, the editing,and/or reproduction using the manufacturer information items.

FIG. 6 is another example of a manufacturer information header accordingto the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, MNFI_Ns indicates thenumber of manufacturer information items, MNFIT_EA indicates the lastaddress of a manufacturer information, LAST_MN indicates anidentification code of a manufacturer of a recorder/editor which lastmodified A/V contents. LAST_PROD indicates a code of a product whichlast modified the A/V contents. MN_CD indicates the manufacturer codecorresponding to the number of manufacturer information items, PROD_CDindicates the product codes of the respective manufacturer informationitems. FILE_NAME indicates the file name of an additional file forindividual information, and REC_TM indicates the time in whichindividual information was recorded. The MN_CD and/or PROD_CD and/orFILE_NAME and/or REC_TM can be recorded in the beginning part of therespective manufacturer information items.

To restrict the size of manufacturer information, there is a maximumnumber of MNFI_Ns (for example, up to 5). When the number ofmanufacturer information items exceeds the maximum number, the oldestrecords can be deleted. If the manufacturer information item has anadditional file when the manufacturer information item is deleted, thisfile is also deleted. When a recorder/editor modifies the recordingmedium content and it has its own manufacturer information item, onlythe concerned manufacturer information is updated and other manufacturerinformation items should remain unchanged. When a recorder/editormodifies the recording medium content but it does not have its ownmanufacturer information item, even in this case, the identificationcode of the manufacturer which modifies the recording medium should berecorded.

MNFIT_EA is the last address of a manufacturer information, for example,having a relative block number (RBN) from the first byte position of themanufacturer information header. LAST_MN denotes a manufactureridentification code which last modified the A/V contents. It ismandatory to have this recorded when the A/V contents are modified bythe recorder/editor even if the recorder/editor does not have themanufacturer information item therefor. LAST_PROD made by themanufacturer denotes a product code of the product which last modifiedthe A/V contents. It must be recorded when the recorder/editor modifiesthe A/V contents even if the recorder/editor does not have themanufacturer information item therefor. Since the manufactureridentification codes must be classified according to the respectivemanufacturers, they preferably have unique values according to therespective manufacturers. Also, since a manufacturer may have variousproducts, it is recommended that the manufacturer manage the productcodes.

Namely, a set in which the A/V contents are modified in order to makethe information in relation to real A/V contents identical to A/Vcontents must record the manufacturer identification information in themanufacturer identification code field (LAST_MN) of the manufacturerinformation header even if there is no manufacturer information item ofits own. Also, when the recording medium is inserted into a set, it mustbe checked whether the real A/V contents are identical to themanufacturer's information item which is specific to the manufacturer inrelation to the A/V contents of the recording medium. The first andeasiest way is to check the identification code of the manufacturerwhich last modified the recording medium. When the A/V contents aremodified by an other manufacturer's equipment, a concerned set mustmodify or update the information in relation to A/V contents.

MN_CD and PROD_CD are manufacturer codes and the product codes, as manyas stored manufacturer information items, to indicate that eachmanufacturer information item belongs to which manufacturer and product.When the information for the manufacturer products exists in anadditional file, FILE_NAME is the name of the file. If there is no file,the FILE_NAME is filled with a special value. REC_TM denotes the timewhen the information is recorded. MN_CD, REC_TM, PROD_CD, FILE_NAME canbe recorded in the beginning part of the respective manufacturerinformation items.

FIG. 7 is a table showing the contents of a manufacturer informationsearch pointer according to the present invention. FIG. 7 includesMNFI_SA which denotes the starting address of the manufacturerinformation item. The MNFI_SA is the starting address of themanufacturer information item, for example, having RBN from the firstbyte of the manufacturer information header.

FIG. 8 is a table showing the contents of the manufacturer informationitems according to the present invention, which has bytes of variablelength. The maximum size of the information is, for example, 10Kilobytes (KB). When the size of the information exceeds 10 KB, theadditional information file of the manufacturer can be used.

As described above, according to the present invention, a recordingmedium is provided, which contains A/V data and formatted information touse the A/V data for recording and reproducing, and manufacturerinformation to support manufacturer specific function which cannot beimplemented using the formatted information. Moreover, manufacturerinformation is provided to support multiple manufacturer informationitems. Such information also contains the identification code of themanufacturer which last modified the contents of the recording medium.This information can be used to check the effectiveness of its ownmanufacturer information item when the recording medium is recorded,edited, reproduced by multiple equipment of different manufacturerssince the manufacturer information item which is specific to themanufacturer can not be managed by other manufactures equipment.Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the time taken to determinewhether the manufacturer information items are effective.

Although a few preferred embodiments of the present invention have beenshown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat changes may be made in this embodiment without departing from theprinciples and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined inthe claims and their equivalents.

1. A method of recording and/or editing content on a data recordingmedium, comprising: recording an identification information of amanufacturer of a recording apparatus that recorded or modified thecontent of the recording medium different from the identificationinformation prior to the recording or the modification; and recording alast address of manufacturer information for the recording apparatus toidentify the last address of the manufacturer information.
 2. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: recording a product identification codeof the recording apparatus of the manufacturer that modified the contentof the recording medium by performing recording/editing on the recordingmedium.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the identification informationcorresponds to the manufacturer of the recording apparatus that lastrecorded or modified the content of the recording medium.
 4. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: recording a number of manufacturerinformation items, a file name of the additional file for individualinformation, and a time in which the individual information is recordedat a beginning part of respective manufacturer information items,wherein the manufacturer information comprises a manufacturerinformation header comprising at least one of the number of manufacturerinformation items, the identification information of the manufacturer ofthe recording apparatus that modified the content of the recordingmedium, product code information indicating a product model of therecording apparatus that modified the content of the recording medium, amanufacturer code corresponding to the number of manufacturerinformation items, product codes of the respective manufacturerinformation items, the file name of an additional file for individualinformation, and the time in which individual information is recorded.5. A method of recording/reproducing content on a rewritable recordingmedium with a recording/reproducing apparatus using manufacturerinformation recorded on the recording medium, comprising: verifying acoincidence of an identification information of a manufacturer of adevice which recorded or modified the content of the recording mediumand a manufacturer identification information of therecording/reproducing apparatus to determine whether a manufacturerspecific information of the recording/reproducing apparatus iseffective, wherein the identification information of the manufacturer isdifferent from the identification information prior to the recording orthe modification, and the manufacturer information comprises a lastaddress of the manufacturer information for the recording/reproducingapparatus to identify the last address of the manufacturer information.6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: verifying the coincidenceof an identification information of a product that modified the contentof the recording medium and a product identification code of therecording/reproducing apparatus to determine whether the manufacturerspecific information of the recording/reproducing apparatus iseffective.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the identificationinformation of the manufacturer corresponds to the manufacturer of therecording apparatus that last modified the content of the recordingmedium.
 8. A recording method of recording content on a rewritablerecording medium, comprising: modifying the content on the recordingmedium; and recording manufacturer information comprising a manufactureridentification information of a recording apparatus indicating amanufacturer of the recording apparatus which recorded or modified thecontent of the recording medium different from the manufactureridentification information prior to the recording or the modification,wherein the manufacturer information comprises a last address of themanufacturer information for the recording apparatus to identify thelast address of the manufacturer information.
 9. The recording method ofclaim 8, further comprising: recording a product information codeindicating a product model of the recording apparatus that modified thecontent of the recording medium.
 10. The recording method of claim 9,further comprising: recording an operation code indicating informationon an operation performed by the recording apparatus other thanreproduction of the content of the recording medium.
 11. The recordingmethod of claim 10, wherein the operation code information is compatiblefor a plurality of different manufacturers.
 12. The recording method ofclaim 8, further comprising: recording a manufacturer information itemspecific to the manufacturer of the recording apparatus, and amanufacturer code to indicate the manufacturer of the manufacturerinformation item.
 13. The recording method of claim 9, furthercomprising: recording a manufacturer information item specific to themanufacturer, a manufacturer code to indicate the manufacturer of therecording apparatus of the manufacturer information item, and a productcode to indicate a product model of the recording apparatus of themanufacturer information item.
 14. The recording method of claim 13,further comprising: recording time information indicating a time whenthe manufacturer information item is recorded on the recording medium.15. The recording method of claim 13, further comprising: recording themanufacturer code and the product code at a beginning part of themanufacturer information item.
 16. The recording method of claim 12,further comprising: recording a search pointer indicating a startingaddress of the manufacturer information item.
 17. The recording methodof claim 12, further comprising: updating a number of total manufacturerinformation items recorded on the recording medium.
 18. The recordingmethod of claim 17, further comprising: determining whether the numberof total manufacturer information items exceeds a predetermined limit,and if so, deleting an oldest manufacturer information item stored onthe recording medium.
 19. The recording method of claim 9, furthercomprising: recording an address of manufacturer information whichincludes the manufacturer identification information and the productinformation code.
 20. The recording method of claim 10, furthercomprising: recording an last address of manufacturer information whichincludes the manufacturer identification information, the productinformation code, and the operation code.
 21. The recording method ofclaim 8, wherein the manufacturer identification information correspondsto the manufacturer of the recording apparatus that last modified thecontent of the recording medium.
 22. A method of modifying content on arecording medium, comprising: recording on the recording mediummanufacturing information comprising a manufacturer identificationinformation of a recording and reproducing apparatus indicating amanufacturer of the recording and reproducing apparatus that recorded ormodified the content of the recording medium different from themanufacturer identification information prior to the recording or themodification, wherein the manufacturer information comprises a lastaddress of the manufacturer information for the recording andreproducing apparatus to identify the last address of the manufacturerinformation; and reading a manufacturer identification information,determining whether the content is effective based upon whether the readmanufacturer identification information matches that of the recordingand reproducing apparatus, and reading the content if the content iseffective.
 23. The method of claim 22, further comprising: reading thecontent of the recording medium to determine whether the content iseffective if the determination is that the read manufactureridentification information does not match that of the recording andreproducing apparatus, and reproducing the content read if the contentread is determined to be effective.
 24. The method of claim 22, furthercomprising: updating only manufacturer information item specific to themanufacturer of the recording and reproducing apparatus, and notupdating other manufacturer information items recorded on the recordingmedium.
 25. The method of claim 22, wherein the manufactureridentification information corresponds to the manufacturer of therecording apparatus that last modified the content of the recordingmedium.
 26. A reproduction method of reproducing content from arecording medium comprising manufacturer identification information, thereproduction method comprising: reading manufacturer informationcomprising the manufacturer identification information of a manufacturerof an apparatus that recorded or modified the content of the recordingmedium different from the manufacturer identification information priorto the recording or the modification, wherein the manufacturerinformation comprises a last address of the manufacturer information forthe apparatus to identify the last address of the manufacturerinformation; and determining whether to read the content based upon theread manufacturer identification information.
 27. The reproductionmethod of claim 26, wherein the recording medium has a productinformation code indicating a product model of the apparatus thatmodified the content of the recording medium on the recording medium,the reproduction method further comprising: reading the product model;and determining whether to read the content based upon the read productmodel.
 28. The reproduction method of claim 26, wherein the recordingmedium has an operation code indicating information on an operationperformed by the recording apparatus that modified the content of therecording medium, the reproduction method further comprising: readingthe operation code; and determining how to modify the content based uponthe read operation code.
 29. The reproduction method of claim 27,wherein the recording medium has a manufacturer information itemspecific to the manufacturer, and a manufacturer code to indicate themanufacturer of the manufacturer information item, the reproductionmethod further comprising: reading the manufacturer code; anddetermining whether to read the manufacturer information item if themanufacturer code matches a code relating to the manufacturer of thereproducing apparatus.
 30. The reproduction method of claim 27, whereinthe recording medium has a manufacturer information item specific to themanufacturer, a manufacturer code to indicate the manufacturer of therecording apparatus of the manufacturer information item, and a productcode to indicate a product model of the recording apparatus of themanufacturer information item, the reproduction method furthercomprising: reading the manufacturer code and the product code; anddetermining whether to read the manufacturer information item if themanufacturer code matches a code relating to the manufacturer of thereproducing apparatus and the product code matches a code relating tothe product model of the reproducing apparatus.
 31. The reproductionmethod of claim 30, wherein the recording medium has time informationindicating a time when the manufacturer information item is recorded onthe recording medium, the reproduction method further comprising:reading the time information and processing the read time information.32. The reproduction method of claim 29, wherein the recording mediumhas a search pointer indicating a starting address of the manufacturerinformation item, the reproduction method further comprising: readingthe search pointer and then reading the manufacturer information item atthe starting address thereof.
 33. The reproduction method of claim 26,further comprising: determining whether the read manufactureridentification information matches a code of a current reproducingapparatus relating to a manufacturer of the reproducing apparatus;reading the content for reproduction if there is a match forreproduction of the content; reading the content if there is not thematch for analyzing the content; and reproducing the content if there isthe match or if the analysis indicates the content is reproducible by acurrent reproducing.
 34. The reproduction method of claim 26, whereinthe manufacturer identification information corresponds to themanufacturer of the recording apparatus that last modified the contentof the recording medium.